Coil winder



June 7, 1949. s. BRENNAN 2,472,089

COIL WINDER Filed April 5, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR LIN-N S. BRENNAN E @MM W I ATTORNEY June 7, 1949. L. s. BRENNAN 2,472,039

COIL wmnmz Filed April 3, 1 45 2 Sheets-Sheet z 'INVENTOR LINN 5' BRENNAN ATTOR N EY Patented June 7, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 3'70 0. G. 757) 12 Claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without payment to me of any royalty thereon.

The invention to be hereinafter described relates to a method and a device for winding antenna wires of loop antennas.

A common form of loop antenna includes a tubular loop-housing of circular or ring outline. Such housings create serious drag or wind resistance when mounted on planes. In order to reduce this drag, as far as practicable, streamlining is applied. Streamlining, in turn, correspondingly reduces at least one inside dimension of the loop-housing. Since the antenna support and antenna are within the housing, the free space between loop-housing and loop will be proportionately altered. Where the antenna support is a circular band within the loop-housing, the antenna may be wound thereon by attaching one end of it to the support at one end of a groove formed spirally in the support and then rotating the support within and through the loop-housing, provided there is a smooth, free and unobstructed passage throughout the loop-housing. Obviously, any restriction of the free space between the loop-housing and antenna support or any roughness or other obstruction in the interior of the loop-housing, increases the difficulty of rotating such support through and within the loop-housing.

The present invention is designed to overcome the above and other diificulties and provide a simple, compact, efiicient and durable device which may be readily produced at low cost and from readily obtainable parts and materials.

In order to more clearly disclose the construction, operation and use of the invention reference should be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of the present application. Throughout the drawings like reference characters designate the same parts in the difierent views.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a front view of a loop-antenna of streamlined construction with which the invention may be used, showing one form of the device in operative position.

Fig. 2 is a left side elevation of Fig. l partly broken away; and

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, considerably enlarged.

As will hereinafter more clearly appear, the unitary winding device of this invention is applied with the loop-housing in upside-down or inverted position-i. e. with the open end or bottom of the base uppermost.

While the invention may be used to advantage with various types of loop housings, its greatest advantage will be found in the streamlined housings where the interior dimensions are most restricted relative to the travel of feed of the antenna support therein. The drawings illustrate such type of loop housing. In the preferred type, the loop-housing comprises two substantially semi-circular housing tubes l of elliptical cross section, the ellipse being very narrow-i. e., having one diameter much greater than the other.

Within this housing is revolubly mounted the spirally grooved circular antenna support 2. It will be noticed that the support 2 is completely exposed for a short distance within the chamber of the base or box 3 by which the loop-housing is attached to the skin of the plane. That portion of the antenna support 2 extends across the interior of the chamber 3 from the open end of one of the housing tubes I to the open end of the other of said tubes. That portion also is appreciably spaced from the inside top of the chambered base 3. From the above it will be clear that the portion of antenna support referred to is com pletely free and clear and is spaced from all parts of the housing tubes l and base 3.

This free, clear or exposed portion of the antenna support 2 provides the possible connection for the antenna Winding device.

The winding device comprises two friction cylinders 4 provided with knurled or otherwise roughened engaging or friction drive surfaces. They are, respectively, fixed to or secured to the ends of substantially parallel spaced shafts 5 which are journaled in a narrow plate or bar 5. This plate is mounted centrally, lengthwise of the base 3, providing openings into the chamber along both sides of the bar through which the winding may be watched and stopped to draw off a center terminal and stopped at the completion of the winding. One of these shafts has a conventional bearing in plate 6 and is not capable of any movement relatively thereto except rotation therein. The other shaft is mounted in an elongated or elliptical bearing slot 5 so disposed as to permit that shaft to be swung bodily toward the other shaft. This, in turn, permits the friction cylinder 4 carried by that shaft to be swung toward the cylinder carried by the other shaft. When the cylinders 4 are in operative position contacting the two edges of the antenna support 2, swinging the movable shaft toward the other shaft grips the edges of support 2 between the two friction driving cylinders 4. Driving shafts 5 with that engagement, feeds the antenna support 2 and eifects rotation of the support through the loop-housing. That, in turn, with the antenna wire properly anchored in a groove end, effects the spiral winding of the antenna wire on the support 2. In order to maintain the driving engagement of the cylinders with the edges of the antenna support, a spring actuated forked lever 8 is used. It is suitably pivoted at 9 in an opening through plate 5 and is provided with one U-shaped shaft-engaging end H]. The opposite end of the lever is connected by a coil spring or equivalent means i i normally continually urging lever 8 to operative position against the respective shaft 5.

Shafts 5 are provided with gears l2, idler gears l3, mounted on plate ES, being interposed to drive one shaft from the other and in the opposite direction. That shaft 5 which is not movably mounted is provided with a bevel gear l4 adapted to mesh with and be driven by a bevel pinion l5. Pinion i5 is secured to and driven by the short shaft [5 suitably rotatably mounted on plate 6 and driven by the crank handle 59 or any other well known means.

As the antenna support 2 is rotated through the loop housing it is, of course, necessary to avoid contact between the adjacent inner surface of the loop housing and the supported antenna wire. Such contact during winding would remove or damage the insulation. In the present instance. the insulation is adequately protected against all such abrasion by completely embedding the insulated wire I! Within the groove it which is made of such depth as to receive the entire cross section of the insulated wire H, the surface of the support adjacent the groove :8 extending very slightly above or beyond the insulation of the wire.

All operating parts are mounted on and carried by plate 6. Plate 6 on the other hand, with its operating parts, constituted a complete self-contained operating unit which may be quickly and easily installed or removed as a unit, winding the antenna wire and then, after winding, leaving the wound antenna in place. Plate 6 of the unit is securely anchored to the base in any suitable manner as by screws extending through plate 6 and threaded into housing 3. By such an assemblage, the housing 3 provides adequate temporary foundation and support for the winding unit.

Briefly, the operation is as follows:

The loop-housing with enclosed free travelling spirally grooved antenna support 2 is secured in an upside-down or inverted position so that the open end or bottom of base 3 will be up or at the top. Then one end of the antenna wire I? will be anchored in one end of the spiral groove IS with a sufficient free length to provide an adequate end terminal connection. Next, the above described unitary winding device will be mounted in operative position with friction cylinders 5 engaging the edges of the antenna support 2 and the lever 8 exerting the necessary pressure to efiect driving. As shaft [6 is turned the support 2 will be fed through the loop-housing i and the antenna wire, following the spiral of the groove, will be properly spirally wound. As the center of the coil or half-way point of the winding is reached, the operation is momentarily stopped and a narrow loop is drawn off and scraped or bared to provide a center coil or mid-point terminal. The winding is then resumed, leaving sufiicient length at completion to provide an adequate terminal connection at that end of the antenna wire. Plate 6, carrying the winding unit parts, is then removed and the several terminals properly connected. That completes the winding operation. The number of turns or helices and their respective spacings are, of course, predetermined in well known manner.

It is thought that the construction, operation and use of the winding device of this invention and the method of this invention will be clear from the preceding detailed description. Changes may be made in the construction, arrangement and disposition of various parts of the invention within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the field of the invention and it is meant to include all such within this application wherein only one preferred form has been illustrated, purely by way of example and with no thought of intent to, in any degree, limit the invention thereby.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination, in an antenna wire winding device, an antenna loop housing, a plate removably mounted on the base of said loop-housing, parallel shafts journaled therein and provided with spaced friction driving cylinders, means for driving both said cylinders in opposite directions and means for yieldingly urging one of said cylinders toward the other during the driving operation.

2. In combination in an antenna wire winding device, an antenna loop housing, a plate removably mounted on the base of said loop-housing, parallel shafts journaled therein and provided with spaced friction driving cylinders, means for driving both said shafts in opposite directions, means for rocking one of said shafts toward the other and means for yieldingly urging said rockable shaft toward operative position.

3. In combination in an antenna wire winding device, an antenna p housing, a plate removably mounted on the base of said loop-housing, parallel shafts journaled therein and provided with spaced friction driving cylinders, means for driving both of said shafts in o'onosite directions, a lever engaging one of said sh s, and means for yieldingly urging said lever against said shaft to force said shaft to operative position.

4. In combination, in an antenna wire winding device, an antenna loop housing, a plate removably mounted on the base of said loop-housing, parallel shafts journaled therein and provided with spaced friction driving cylinders, means for driving both of said shafts in opposite directions, means for rocking one of said shafts toward ihe other, a lever pivoted in said plate and provided with a fork engaging said rockable shaft and a spring engaging said lever and yieldingly urging said rockable shaft toward operative position.

5. A method of winding antenna wires comprising frictionally driving through a loop-housing a spirally grooved antenna support and feeding an antenna wire into such groove througl'iout the driving operation.

6. A method of winding antenna wires com prising frictionally driving through a loop-housing a spirally grooved antenna support, yield maintaining frictional driving pressure on said support and feeding an antenna wire into such groove throughout the driving operation.

'7. In combination, in an antenna wire winding device, an antenna loop housing provided with a chambered base communicating with said housing, a plate removably bridging the open side of said chamber, parallel shafts journaled in said plate and provided with spaced friction driving cylinders, said shafts and cylinders, in assembled relation, lying at least partly Within said chamber, means mounted on said plate for driving said shafts in opposite directions, one of said shafts being movable toward the other and means for yieldingly urging said movable shaft toward said other shaft during the driving operation.

8. In combination, in an antenna wire winding device, an antenna loop housing provided with a chambered base communicating with said housing, a plate removably bridging the open side of said chamber, parallel shafts journaled in said plate and provided with spaced friction driving cylinders, said shafts and cylinders, in assembled relation, lying at least partly within said chamber, means mounted on said plate for driving both said shafts in opposite directions, one of said shafts being rockable toward the other and means for yieldingly urging said rockable shaft toward the other shaft during the driving operation.

9. In combination, in an antenna wire winding device, an antenna loop housing provided with a chambered base communicating with said housing, a plate removably bridging the open side of said chamber, parallel shafts journaled in said plate and provided with spaced friction driving cylinders, said shafts and cylinders, in assembled relation; lying at least partly within said chamber, a lever carried by said plate and engaging one of said shafts and, in assembled position, lying at least partly within said chamber, means yieldingly urging said lever to operative position and means mounted on said plate for driving said shafts.

10. In combination, in an antenna wire winding device, an antenna loop housing provided with a chambered base communicating with said housing, a plate removably bridging the open side of said chamber, parallel shafts journaled in said plate and provided with spaced friction driving cylinders, in assembled relation, lying at least partly within said chamber, one of said shafts being rockable toward the other, means mounted on said plate for driving both of said shafts in opposite directions, a lever pivoted on said plate and provided with a, fork engaging said rockable shaft and a spring engaging said lever and yieldingly urging said rockable shaft toward the other shaft and into operative position, said lever, in assembled relation lying at least partly within said chamber.

11. In combination, in an antenna wire winding device, an antenna loop housing provided with a chambered base communicating with said housing, a plate removably bridging the open side of said chamber and wholly supported by said chamber, parallel shafts journaled in said plate and provided with spaced friction driving cylinders, said shafts and cylinders, in assembled relation, lying at least partly within said chamber, means mounted on said plate for driving both said shafts in opposite directions, means for moving one of said shafts toward the other and means for yieldingly urging said movable shaft toward operative position during the driving operation.

12. A device for winding a loop antenna, of the type which includes a hollow annular loop housing, split at at least one part of its periphery so as to leave a free space, an annular antenna support which is positioned within said hollow housing and extends across said free space, and a hollow base which at least partly surrounds said split portion and free space, including, in combination, a pair of spaced, substantially parallel friction cylinders positioned at least partly within said base for frictional engagement with opposite edges of said support where it extends across the free space aforesaid, spring means to urge said cylinders toward each other and into intimate frictional engagement with said support so as to grip said support therebetween, means to rotate said cylinders simultaneously in opposite directions, and means to removably operably support said cylinders, spring means and rotating means, as a unitary device, relative to said base and largely within said base during the winding operation.

LINN S. BRENNAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record; in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,940,175 Loubet Dec. 19, 1933 2,263,972 Leoser Nov. 25, 1941 

